Fenstanton Primary School

Inspection of Fenstanton Primary School Abbots Park, Tulse Hill, London SW2 3PW

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 14 and 15 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well looked after here. Pupils trust staff and know that they can go to them with any problems. Staff encourage pupils to be kind and respectful. Pupils who are ‘peer mediators’, for example, help to sort out any disagreements. Pupils understand the school rules and behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy in school and they enjoy learning. They are keen to take part in lessons. Pupils have various opportunities to develop new interests and talents, including in music and sports. Pupils in the school choir loved performing at the Royal Festival Hall recently, for example. The school sports teams regularly take part in local competitions, such as in dodgeball.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders organise a rich set of experiences for all year groups. Pupils love the wide range of educational outings, such as annual theatre visits. Pupils in Year 6 look forward to the summer camping journey in particular.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is routinely as well delivered as intended. As a result, pupils often do not develop the key knowledge they need. Pupils who struggle with reading at times are not helped to catch up quickly.

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better?

Leaders ensure that all pupils have the same opportunities to learn a broad range of subjects. Leaders have recently adopted a new curriculum for subjects such as history, science and art. While they have high ambition for their pupils, the curriculum in many subjects is not being delivered as leaders have planned. There are inconsistencies in how subjects are taught. Subjects such as computing and Spanish are taught sporadically. In some subjects, pupils have not been taught the prior knowledge that they need to help them to learn new subject content. Staff have varying levels of subject expertise to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge effectively. This affects pupils’ understanding.

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better?

The new curriculum is not coherently sequenced from early years to Year 6. Leaders have not worked out exactly what pupils need to know and remember in each year group. As a result, teachers are not clear about what learning content they need to check that pupils have learned. Pupils do not build up knowledge and skills across a range of subjects.

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better?

In some subjects, the curriculum is well developed and taught effectively. In mathematics, for example, teachers follow a clear sequence of learning. They check that pupils are secure in the essential knowledge that they need. Teachers think carefully about the mathematical language that they use and they model key vocabulary to pupils. In early years, children develop their knowledge of number well. 14 and 15 June 2023

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Teachers adapt learning to help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to access the curriculum. Leaders identify the different needs of pupils with SEND in the school accurately. They work closely with SEND specialists and act on advice given.

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Children in Nursery enjoy listening to a range of stories, rhymes and books. Leaders’ focus on helping children to learn to read continues into Reception and beyond. Teachers follow a consistent structure for teaching phonics. Leaders promote a love of reading across the school. Pupils are keen to use the new school library and talk enthusiastically about books they have read in class.

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Staff use careful assessment to check pupils’ learning in early reading. Leaders identify weaker readers and put in place additional support. However, leaders do not follow a consistent approach to supporting these pupils. Pupils are often prompted to use pictures and to remember words they have seen. This results in pupils guessing at words rather than using their decoding skills. The books that pupils are given do not closely match the phonic sounds that pupils know. This means that pupils do not catch up as quickly as they should.

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Pupils are usually attentive in lessons. Teachers deal with any low-level disruption effectively. Leaders have worked hard to improve pupils’ attendance at school. They face considerable challenges that impact pupils’ attendance. Leaders work closely with parents and carers and use a range of strategies to break down barriers to attendance.

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Leaders arrange various after-school activities, such as Portuguese club for first- language speakers, comic club and gymnastics. Leaders make sure that most pupils take part in at least one club. Staff encourage pupils to take on responsibilities, such as in the role of house captains and as members of the school council. Pupils are taught to think of others. For example, some pupils took on roles as ‘food-poverty heroes’ to help organise food-bank collections.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. They said that leaders are considerate of workload and well-being. Many subject leaders are new in post this year. Leaders and governors have plans to continue supporting this group of staff. Staff value the strong sense of community in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The members of the safeguarding team work well together to keep pupils safe. Regular training and updates for staff help to ensure that safeguarding is a high priority. Staff are vigilant and record any concerns about pupils, including any changes in behaviour. Leaders take appropriate and timely action to follow up any concerns. They liaise with the local authority and external agencies to ensure that pupils and families get the right help. 14 and 15 June 2023

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Pupils are taught to stay safe. For example, they are encouraged not to give out personal information online and taught how to raise concerns with adults. Leaders offer targeted support for some pupils, including mentoring programmes and ‘nurture group’.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not implemented consistently well. Pupils do not have secure foundational knowledge in many subjects. Leaders have not identified or addressed gaps in knowledge with sufficient rigour. Pupils struggle to understand new learning as a result. Subjects such as computing and Spanish are taught sporadically. Pupils have limited knowledge in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is delivered consistently well across all subjects.  The curriculum does not build coherently from early years to Year 6. In some subjects, leaders have not considered precisely what pupils need to learn and in what order they should learn it. Teachers are not clear about the essential component knowledge they need to teach and assess. Pupils’ knowledge in some subjects is not secure as a result. Leaders should ensure that learning is planned and sequenced coherently across the school. They should identify the specific

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

knowledge and skills that pupils need to know and ensure that teachers check that pupils understand and remember key subject content.  Leaders do not follow a consistent approach to supporting weaker readers. Staff do not systematically encourage pupils to decode words. Sometimes, pupils are given books that are not closely matched to the phonic sounds they know. This means that the weaker readers are not being helped to catch up quickly. Leaders should make sure that they have a consistent approach to supporting weaker readers. They should ensure that pupils are given books to practise reading that are matched precisely to pupils’ knowledge.  Many subject leaders are relatively new in post. They need further support to help them to develop the curriculum in their subject areas, including to support teachers with subject-specific knowledge. Senior leaders should continue to develop the leadership skills of this group of staff. They should ensure that these

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

subject leaders have suitable subject-specific training and time to carry out their roles effectively.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 14 and 15 June 2023

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 14 and 15 June 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Alexandra Cambouris

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Gipsy Hill Federation, along with five other local primary schools. The school has a local advisory board that reports to the federation’s governing body. A new executive headteacher of the federation recently took up post.  The current headteacher took up post in September 2019, along with the deputy headteacher. Two assistant headteachers have also been appointed since the previous inspection.  Leaders do not use any alternative provision.  The school organise and manage a breakfast club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 14 and 15 June 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the executive headteacher and other members of the school leadership team, including leaders with responsibility for safeguarding and pupils with SEND. Discussions were held with different groups of staff and pupils.  Inspectors met with members of the governing body, including the chair of the local advisory board, and had a discussion with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science, history and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors listened to a sample of

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pupils reading aloud.  Inspectors reviewed curriculum plans for other subjects and looked at pupils’ work in a range of subjects.  Inspectors considered a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and the school development plan.  Inspectors spoke with leaders, pupils and staff about the arrangements for safeguarding and reviewed safeguarding documentation, including pre- recruitment checks.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Martyn Patterson Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 June 2023

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